Nut hulling and cracking machine.



L; K. VAUGHN. NUT HULLING AND CRACKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.2I, 19H.

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI I.

L. K. VAUGHN.

NUT HULLING AND CRACKING MACHINE.

K P h APPLICATION FILED 8.21.1917. L ggq fi g latented Mb. 18, 1919.

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[.K. VAUGHN. NUT HULLING AND IRACKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED FEE. 21.19)].

Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEEI 3.

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' 7 iii IIIIIIIIIIIMZZZ/ Hi5 WET L. K. VAUGHN.

mm HULLING AND cmcxme MACHINE.

a APPLICATION FlLD FEB-21,1911 ggg j gg ig Patented Mb. 18, 1919.

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101115 E. VAUGHN, 0E WOODLAIW, CALIFOEJXTEA.

NUT HULLIIIG- AND CRACKING EIACHINE.

Specification of letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1%), was.

Application filed February 21, 1917. Serial No. 150,604.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis K. VAUGHN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Woodland, in the county of Yolo and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Nut Hulling and Cracking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

M invention relates to nut hulling and crac ring machines wherein a hull and shell cracking mechanism operates in conjunction with a pair ofscreens'; and the ob ects of my invention arev First, to provide improved means adapted to separate hulls from almond nuts and the like- Scond, to provide an improved machine of the character described which shall also be adapted to crack the shells of hulled almond nuts and the like and to separate the. kernels from the shells;

Third, to provide an improved nut hulling and cracking machine having adjustable means whereby the said machine may be used for either cracking or hulling;

Fourth, to provide improved means for returning unhulled or unshelled nuts through the machine; and 7 Fifth, to provide an improved adjustable attrition element to remove the hulls or shells from almond nuts.

I accomplish these several objects by means of the preferred form of the device disclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present specification wherein like characters of reference are used to designate similar parts throughout the said specification and drawings and in which Figure 1 is a broken side elevation o1 the machine.

Fig. 2 is a broken plan view of Fig.1 wlth the upper hopper removed and portions of the screens broken away in order to disclose matter lying thereunder.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken vertical section of the cracking and feeding mechanism.

Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view through the screens and the frame of the machine disclosing the means for adjusting the movable screen;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of one end of the machine disclosing the mechanism for" ad justing the tension of the upper screen and the delivery chutes from the lower screen; and

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view on an stantially stationary inclined screen 2 suspended at its upper end by means of a hinge 3 and at its lower end by means of a yield-' ing support composed of a threaded stem 4 threaded into a transverse bar 6 which is a portion of the frame 1. The lower end of the threaded stem- 1 is rotatably mounted in a bar 7 slidably mounted between two upright or vertical members of the frame 1. A second bar 8 is suspended from the first bar 7 by means of bolts 9 provided With thumb nuts 11 by means of which the said bar8 may be raised and springs 12 are interposed between the two bars to resiliently resist an upward movement of the lower end of the screen 2.

The tension of the springs 12 may be regulated by means of the bolts 9 and nuts 11 the purpose of which will hereinafter be more fully set forth. I

A movable screen 1 1 isprovided with transverse bars 16 and a lower screen 17 and is slidably mounted within the frame 1 by being mounted upon rollers 18 which may be raised or lowered to adjust the space between said lower screen 14 and the upper screen 2, with which it is arranged in substantially parallel relation, by means of threaded stems 19 mounted within brackets 21.

A reciprocating movement or motion is imparted to the movable screen 14 by means of a connecting rod 22 which connects said screen 1 1 with a rotating head 23.

At the upper ends of both screens 2 and 14 is a corrugated roller 26 rotatably mounted within the frame 1 and directly below a hopper 27 which feeds nuts to be hulled or cracked to the said roller 26.

A corrugated arcuate member 28 is pivotally mounted as at 29 and is arranged substantially concentric with the roller 26 and spaced apart therefrom and said space is adjusted by means of an adjusting screw 31.

The lower or movable screen 1411s also provided with a screen 17 arranged below the bars 16 to prevent the passage and thereby retain nut kernels which may pass through the bars 16 and deliver said kernels to an inclined chute 33 at the lower end of the screens 2 and 14.

A second oppositely inclined chute 34 at the ill per 41 from which rises a conveyor 42 to convey nuts to the upper hopper 2'? above the cracking and feeding roller 26.

The conveyor 42 is operated draper drive shaft 43 by means of lroin the gear at o (u thereon which meshes with a ear 45 on the lower conveyor shaft The shaft is also provided with a pulley l? from which a drive belt e18 runs to a sheave or pulley &9 to a shaft 50 upon the other end of which is mounted the rotating disk or head 23 which operates or reciprocates the lower 01 movable screen l The shaft 50 is also provided witha gear 51 which meshes with and drives gear on the shaft 53 of the rotating corrugated roller 26,

The operation is as follows:

The nuts are of the almond or any other similar husk type of nut where it i desired to first remove the hush or hull and then crack the nuts and remove the kernels there" from.

The ccuc d into the lower h the ahnond the space between a cuate corrugated members '28 the roll 26 is adjusted by means the screw slightly crush l hreal: the hull and any separate sa from. the shell of the n without cracking the saioshell.

Emerging from between the lower end of the arcuate member 28 and the roller 26 the if crushed nuts are fed between the uppc and lower screens 2 and 1 re spectively and the reciprocating movement or motion imparted to the lower screen it tends to tnove the nuts between th upper and lower sc eens the space between which slightly larger at upper. than at the lower e ats are moved forward hy the re ciproca l I movement of the lower screen 1&- they are suhiected to a frictional contact with the bars 16 the lower screen 14 as well as with the upper side of the upper screen 2 and the hulls are thereby removed by attrition, said hulls dropping between the transverse bars 16 and onto the screen 17 which delivers the hulls into the chute 33 as the said screen i? is somewhat shorter on the lower end of the screen i l the length 0; no hers 16 thereon.

The extent of the ruhhing or engagement of the upper sc-een may he justed by means of the threaded stem l W on may be operated to lower the bar '4 and thereby increase the tension of the sprin l2 and consequently cause a geater pr sure to be exerted by the screen 2.

.P er the hulls have been removed by attrition the nuts are conveyed. onto the draper 36 by the chute @perators sort and cast the various grades of nuts into the several grading compartments 38 or 39 each successive compartment having a higher well than the pr ceding one as disclosed in 6 of the drawings, to prevent the nuts of one grade from being easily cast into the compartment of the next higher Any nuts that have not been properly or fully hulled into the compartment 3? and are re rned by means of the forward movement of tee draper 37 to the lower hopper e1 from whence they are again conveyed into the f eding hopper 27 and again conveyed through the screens. 2 and 1a to he again subjected to a frictional movement which second subjection generally tends to accomplish the desired result.

After the nuts are entirely hulled they are again run through the i the manner hereinhefore described hut the space between rcuate meinher 28 and the corvi-Uh their or c is screens 2 :2 ,arger y are 1% T 1-K L w M 7 e in \I A- she trans LS9 cars is to the e drecer 30 is cas Q kerne As the tension of the springs 12 may he regulated or adjusted by means of the threaded stern it is evident that the fricti onal pressure of the screen 2 upon the nuts he regulated also.

of construction are so susation that I do not wish to the precise construction a at rather to avail myself 1,.1 cepcicle t0 n connne rn se shown herein or 39 while nulls without in ury to. the

ee a-e52 any modification that may fall properly within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is An almond hulling mechanism including in conjunction with feeding means, a rectangular frame adapted for longitudinal reciprocating movement having its upper end positioned under the crushing means to receive the nuts therefrom, said frame slanting downward from the upper end, a plurality of spaced bars fixed to the frame transversely thereof, a stationary cover over end thereof and will come into frictional contact with the cover and the bars, thereby removing the hulls from the nuts by attrition, and means whereby the lower end of the cover may be adjusted relative to the spacing thereof with the bars.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my signature.

LOUIS K. VAUGHN. 

